The Time For Change
by Mastodonic
Summary: Kyouko is in her last year of middle school and can't help but wonder if she'll ever meet anyone special. Kyouko X Ayano, includes Saku X Hima side story.
1. Kyouko 1

"Ahhn," Kyouko yawned, while sitting in her desk beside the window. It was the first day of the new school year and Kyouko and Yui were now third year students. Unfortunately, Kyouko had been having so much fun the past summer that she had forgotten one important thing: sleep. As a result she sat through her boring history lesson straining to keep her eyes open.

"Toshinou Kyouko... Hey! Toshinou Kyouko!" The sound of this familiar voice whispering entered Koukyo's ear. Kyouko lifted her head to find that she had inevitably fallen asleep and had started to drool onto her desk. In front of her sat Ayano Sugiura, the soon to be student council president giving her a sharp glare out of the corner of her eye. "Slack off again and I won't forgive you" she said still facing the front.

"Heh, sorry Ayano," Kyouko giggled sticking out her tongue.

"Really" Ayano huffed and brought her attention back to the lecture.

Once awake again Kyouko resumed her battle against weariness and managed to hold off until the end of class. Once the bell rang Kyouko bolted out of the classroom and headed for the all too familiar old tea club building. Once inside she was greeted by an enthusiastic Akarin and a wary Chinatsu to whom Kyouko replied with a "mhm!"and flopped under the kotatsu to get some more shut eye.

"That's Kyouko for you!" smirked Akari. "Even though she's a senior she's still acting as goofy as ever, I doubt she'll ever change"

"Ah!" gasped Chiantsu as though a sudden realization had just occurred to her. "Yui senpai is graduating this year! That means we'll spend a whole year apart in different schools!"

"What's happening?" Yui asked as she walked into the room.

"Yui senpai! Don't leave me!" wailed Chinatsu-chan grabbing onto one of Yui's legs

"Umm... it's okay..." said the confused Yui trying to comfort the distraught girl. Looking around Yui noticed her lazy friend snoozing under their table. Yanking Kyouko out by her feet Yui pinched her cheeks and scolded "You'll catch a cold if you sleep under a kotatsu"

"Ehe, you're so reliable Yui," Kyouko sat up groggily rubbing her eyes.

"And I heard what happened last class" Yui said. "You stayed up all night last night reading manga didn't you?" she grumbled.

"Maybe..." said Kyouko rolling her eyes into the corner, as if trying to remember something.

"You're hopeless" sighed Yui plopping down with her back to a wall.

"Glad we established that. Can I sleep now?" Kyouko asked closing one eye.

"No! If you sleep now you'll just feel even more tired and fall back asleep next class" exclaimed Yui. "go take a walk"

"What? bu..." Kyouko started to argue but was interrupted by Yui and Chinatsu shoving her out of the club room. "Sheesh kicking out their own club president! I'll have to have a talk with them when I have more energy to have an argument!" Kyouko mumbled then stopped for a second to notice how many times she had just said 'have'.

Taking away her attention Kyouko heard yelling near the main school building and decided to investigate. Upon arriving Kyouko saw Sakurako intently kicking a wall.

"What'cha doin'" asked Kyouko quizzically tilting her head to one side.

"Oh, hi Toshino-san," Sakurako grumbled "the new roles in the student council were given today. Can you believe that Himawari is the next vice president and not me?"

"Yes"

"Toshinou senpai! Don't say that! Sheesh! All I do is occasionally take a nap or skip my duties and suddenly they think I'm irresponsible! It's not fair." pouted Sakurako.

"I totally understand" said Kyouko grabbing Sakurako's hand. "We should join forces to get people off our backs"

"That's an amazing idea! Let's come up with a plan today after school at my house!" Sakurako cheered, beaming at Kyouko. Just then the two girl's chatter was interrupted by the ringing of a bell. "I'll see you after school today right Toshinou-san?" asked the younger girl

"Sure, you bet!" said Kyouko grinning.

"Okay see you then!" Sakurako ran off into the distance. Kyouko chuckled heading back to class thinking 'time for my second nap'.


	2. Kyouko 2

School had finally ended and Kyouko was walking back with Sakurako to the latter's house. Sakurako was going on complaining about Himawari when the two girls walked inside.

"I mean what's up with those giant-" Sakurako stopped mid-sentence and stared in disbelief. There in the living room was Sakurako's sister and another girl kissing.

"Nee-chan?" Sakurako squeaked in disbelief.

"Ah, Sakurako! I thought you said you had student council duties today... What are you doing back home?" Nadeshiko yelled giddily.

Reading the situation for once, Kyouko hastily turned and muttered "I'll just come back another time" With that Kyouko zipped out the door and started heading on home. Normally she would probably go hang out at Yui's on a day like this, but seeing that kiss had left a strange feeling in her. Kyouko decided it would be best to go on home.

On her walk she couldn't help but keep thinking about that kiss. Why was it bugging her so much? She was always joking about stuff like that with Chinatsu-chan and she had kissed Chitose once when the amusement club and the student council had stayed the night at the school together. All of those events were just Kyouko being exuberant though. Nadeshiko's kiss was different. It had something Kyouko never did. It had love.

Kyouko couldn't help but think "will I ever be in love?" Of course first of all Chinatsu came to mind. Kyouko pondered this idea for a bit. Chinatsu was cute and it was amazing how much she resembled Mikarun, but Kyouko just liked to tease her and couldn't imagine them sharing a kiss like the one she had just witnessed today. Then there was Yui. Yui was the closest person to Kyouko, but she saw Yui more of like a big sister. Kyouko cherished their relationship and didn't want it to change.

"There's Ayano" a voice in her head commented.

"What? Why did she come to mind?"

"Because she's cute" justified Kyouko.

"Akari is cute but she didn't come to mind?" demanded the voice in her head.

"Akari is too forgettable, so of course she didn't" Kyouko argued back at herself.

"You say she's too forgettable but you're arguing with yourself. Therefore you're the one who brought her up"

"Shut up. Also, damn I'm good at arguing!" Kyouko thought resigning herself to defeat. Kyouko- deciding she was too tired from summer vacation to deal with these thoughts right now- decided to drop it and go home to get some sleep.

While laying in her bed, Kyouko couldn't stop tossing and turning. Every time she closed her eyes Ayano would pop up. All Kyouko could do was remember their school field trip where Kyouko used the excuse of the darkness of the Tainai Mekuri to grope Ayano, or when she had fed Ayano her daikon. They bathed together in a barrel because Akarin had lost the other one and then afterward Kyouko got a peck on the cheek from Ayano.

All these experiences had just been Kyouko goofing off or else caused by some other circumstances, but at the time Kyouko could've cared less. She wasn't sure what she was feeling right at the moment but all she did know was that she couldn't and didn't want to stop thinking about all of the fun times she shared with Ayano.

*Sigh* "What's happening to me?"


	3. Ayano 1

Ayano couldn't help but happily hum on her way to school. This year seemed to be going perfect for her. She had been appointed the new Student Council President, four new first years had joined the council, so they had lots of helping hands, and she sat in front of Toshinou Kyouko in three different classes, since they're last names were so close alphabetically.

This was a big secret but Ayano had a big crush on Toshinou Kyouko ever since they started middle school. She did a good job of hiding it, (in her opinion anyway) but she couldn't deny it herself and thought of Toshinou Kyouko constantly.

As she began to resume her normal thought patterns of her affection, Ayano's thoughts were interrupted by a loud "Ayano-chan!" Looking over she saw Chitose waving and walking to catch up with Ayano.

"Hello Chitose-chan how are you today?" asked Ayano with a smile like every other morning.

"What are you so happy about?" giggled Chitose.

"It's not like it has anything to do with Toshinou Kyouko if that's what you're asking!" yelled Ayano, wondering if it was really that obvious she was in a good mood.

"What doesn't have anything to do with me?" asked an incredibly cute voice as the owner slipped her arms around Ayano's waist.

"Kyaa! Toshinou Kyouko!" Ayano screeched pushing the culprit away.

"Knock it off Kyouko" said Yui who came up beside Kyouko hitting her on the head.

"What's wrong? I can't say hi to my friends?" Kyouko whined stretching her arms back out to Ayano.

"Not like that! You're making her uncomfortable. Couldn't you tell by the way she screamed?" Yui scolded and grabbed her collar to prevent Ayano from being attacked again.

"But she's so cute when she screams for me" complained Kyouko

"Can't... hold... longer..." gasped Chitose as blood spurted from her nose

"Aaah! Call 119!" Ayano shouted jumping back.

"It's fine" said Chitose weakly. "Thanks Akaza-san" she added as Akari stepped out of the shadows (or wherever she comes from) to hand her some tissues.

"So?" asked Kyouko. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing of your concern!" barked Ayano suddenly turning a very deep red.

"Aww, but I really want to know" pouted Kyouko.

"Ayano was just saying that she hopes we continue to have fun together this year, isn't that right?" winked Chitose.

"Oh! Well you're not the only one!" grinned Kyouko as they stepped on to school property.

"I have a few matters to handle before class starts so I'll be leaving here" said Ayano heading toward the student council office..

"All right 'Kaichou', see ya!" yelled Kyouko winking.

Ayano found that she was already quite busy with her Student Council duties despite being newly appointed, but she could manage. As Ayano walked into the office she saw Sakurako and the new Vice President Himawari having a discussion while standing so close their bodies were almost touching.

"Is everything alright?" asked Ayano trying to sound in charge.

"No- I mean, Yes!" Sakurako blurted stepping away from Himiwari. Ayano noticed that both the girl's faces had become very red suddenly, which only made Ayano more curious as to what they were doing, but decided to leave them to their privacy.

Ayano grabbed the forms she needed and decided to take them to class to work on them there. The bell sounded just as Ayano walked into class and sat down in her desk. She decided to start working on her papers before the second bell, when she noticed Toshinou Kyoko sit down behind her. The fact that they sat so close to each other still excited Ayano and as a result she had trouble focusing on her papers. Even from here Ayano could smell rum raisin ice cream, which made her wonder "does she eat it for breakfast?"

"Hey Ayano?" Kyouko whispered breaking her train of thought.

"Toshinou Kyouko?" Ayano replied.

"Why do you always call me by my full name?"

"...Uh! I..." Ayano managed to sputter out. What was going on? This seemed so sudden. Which wouldn't have been abnormal for Toshinou Kyouko except that something seemed off. Her tone of voice was one Ayano had never heard from Toshinou Kyouko before. It sounded like she was extremely focused on something. It almost sounded a bit gloomy.

"Well it's not like we're really close or something!" Ayano said.

"Really? But I thought... Never mind, sorry for bothering you Sugiura-san" Toshinou Kyouko muttered. What just happened? Ayano's crush had just called her by her last name and she almost sounded bitter when she said it.

"What have I done?" thought Ayano. Ayano started to wish she could've just told Toshinou Kyouko the truth. That the reason she always used her full name was just because she loved saying it, but that was way too embarrassing. Ayano doubted she'd ever be able to say that. Now she was worried though. Why was Toshinou Kyouko acting so strangely? Was she mad at Ayano? At this rate Ayano doubted she'd ever finish filling out those forms.


	4. Kyouko 3

A/N: Yeah, sorry this one took me so long; I'm not really sure if I liked how the end of the last chapter/ beginning of this chapter turned out. It might be a bit melodramatic. I hope Kyouko didn't come off as ooc in this chapter; I just wanted to show another side of her. Anyway, if you didn't like this one don't put all of your stock in it, because it will hopefully get better.

"What am I doing? I decided to act normal today" thought Kyouko.

Kyouko had gone to bed last night in hopes to refresh her mind, but instead when she woke up she had felt just as confused as ever. She was being tormented by her thoughts of Ayano and was now sitting one desk behind her feeling miserable.

She felt like she was reverting back to her childhood self. It was a feeling she had felt a few months ago when Akari had gone missing for over a week. Now Kyouko was just holding back her tears and had no idea why. Why did Ayano's answer sting so much? Why did Kyouko even ask that question?

She spent the rest of class sulking and dashed out of the room as soon as the bell rang. When she got to the Amusement Club she pretended just to go to sleep, but was actually lying there trying to calm down. It was a lot easier to concentrate on her thoughts here in the peaceful club room than in the classroom.

"Even if she acts like we're not, we're still friends. That's just the way she's always acted. I know that, so it's no big deal" Kyouko told herself. This managed to soothe her a bit. Even though it doesn't seem like it now, Kyouko has had a lot of experience with her emotions and has learned how to deal with them efficiently. She had never felt like this before though, and her emotions seemed completely disjointed.

After mulling it over, Kyouko was feeling a lot more like her old self. She sprang up from the floor, surprising Akari on her way up. The other three girls sat there staring at Kyouko, with her staring back.

"So, anything interesting happening lately?" asked Kyouko acting normal. The girls gave their varying responses of no. "Anything interesting to do?" persisted Kyouko desperately wanting to preoccupy herself, but again the girls gave a lethargic refusal.

Kyouko started to pout, wondering what to do. Then Kyouko had a great idea. She turned around and pulled out a familiar pink box out of god knows where. The box was littered with crossed out titles in permanent black marker. Kyouko quickly scratched out the latest title and replaced it with "Random Box."

"Are you planning to carry that thing around your whole life?" asked Yui.

"Why is it called Random Box now?" chirped Chinatsu.

"Because," Kyouko started, dragging it out "I've never thrown out anything we've put in here. They just go under the false bottom!"

"Why does a cheap box like that have a false bottom?" muttered Yui.

"So now," stated Kyouko, still ignoring Yui "We are going to use this with no idea what will come out!" and outside they threw Kyouko. That was getting really annoying, Kyouko thought as she started to walk back to the main building. It seemed like the only thing they did as a group anymore was kick Kyouko out of her own clubroom. Just when she was starting to distract herself too.

What was she going to say to Ayano when she saw her? She must have noticed her weird behaviour this morning.

"Hey! Toshinou-san!" came a yell from Kyouko's right. Kyouko turned around to see Sakurako walking towards her from the spot they had met yesterday. Sakurako caught up to Kyouko, grinning proudly and exclaimed "I came up with a plan to get Himawari off my back! I'm going to make her fall in love with me! The plan is already in progress." Kyouko was a bit shocked by Sakurako's ploy. As far as Kyouko understood the two girls were childhood friends who constantly bickered, yet were still very close. Something about the way Sakurako presented her strategy made Kyouko wonder if she was already crushing on her friend.

"Isn't it genius?" Sakurako boasted, all starry-eyed. "So what are you planning to do Toshinou-san?"

"Wait, how are you going to make her fall in love with you?" Kyouko asked slightly confused.

"Oh it's easy!" smirked Sakurako, crossing her arms. "First I'm going to make her more conscious of me. Get up close to her when we speak, make provocative poses from time to time. Then next I'll start showing her some kindness when the chance shows itself, like holding the door open for her or complementing her on occasions. Then finally I'll bring her to a romantic place like a hill where you can see the stars and kiss her right then and there. It's perfect!"

Kyouko got lost in her own thoughts. She wondered if it was really that easy to make someone fall in love with you. Would Sakurako be able to pull it off?

Just like the day before the two girls were interrupted by the bell. Sakurako gave a lively goodbye to the distracted Kyouko and then headed back onto class. Kyouko then noticed she was standing there dumbly, and headed off to class.

When she got to class Kyouko wondered what she should say when she saw Ayano. She walked through the door and saw Ayano sitting in her seat ready for class to begin as usual and felt her heart skip a beat. Kyouko managed to sit in her desk without facing Ayano, but just she did Ayano turned around. Kyouko felt her face flush which was an unusual feeling for her, but just as it seemed that Ayano was about to say something the teacher began talking and Ayano gave him full attention. Kyouko felt so relieved and could feel her heart throbbing in her chest.

Kyouko couldn't pay attention to the teacher and instead found herself staring at Ayano's purple hair which was tied into a neat ponytail like everyday. It looked so soft and lush Kyouko couldn't help wondering what it felt like. Slowly Kyouko reached out with her free hand and extended it towards the purple plume. When she realized what she was doing she flinched back in shock, making a bit of a ruckus. The class turned around to stare at her which made Kyouko blush even more, hoping no one had seen her. Making a lame excuse about the lecture being so enthralling, Kyouko managed to divert the attention. She spent the rest of class wondering again what Ayano's hair felt like. When the bell rang Kyouko tried to leave class quickly, but as it turned out not quick enough.

"Wait!" Ayano's voice shot through the hall.

Kyouko cringed. She turned around not knowing what to expect, but prepared for the worst.

"Umm..." Ayano stammered, catching up to Kyouko. "I just wanted to continue our talk from earlier today and well, umm... I uh," Ayano sputtered as her face was enveloped in a deep shade of red. "Well I just... I wanted to tell you that I... I didn't mean what I said and I uh... like to think of us as friends and I hope you do too. Thanks! That's all I wanted to say! See you Kyouko-san!" Ayano blurted out and then quickly dashed off towards the student council office.

Kyouko stood there frozen. A strange feeling swelled up in her chest. She found herself beaming. Ayano had just called her by her first name. Kyouko didn't even care about Ayano's choice of honorifics, she was undeniably rapturous. Standing there grinning like an idiot in the middle of the hallway, she couldn't help but come to the conclusion she had been avoiding. She was in love with Ayano Sugiura.


	5. Ayano 2

Ayano burst into the student council office with her face burning red. Luckily, it was empty at the time. She took a seat behind her new big desk at the front of the room and buried her head in her arms. She had just committed the boldest act of her life (which wasn't saying much); she had called Toshinou Kyouko by her first name. Not only that, but she had also admitted that she thought of them as friends. She felt quite embarrassed, yet she did not feel an ounce of regret. She had finally been honest with her feelings for once, which was something she had been attempting for a long time. Ayano couldn't help but wonder what Toshinou Kyouko thought about her, which made her blush even harder.

Due to being lost in her thoughts, Ayano did not hear the door open, nor did she notice Chitose walk in. Ayano continued to fret over Kyouko's concealed feelings, her face still a deep crimson.

"Are you okay Ayano-chan? Your face is really red" commented the concerned Chitose. Ayano lifted her face to see Chitose standing right in front of her.

"Ah! Chitose-chan! I didn't see you there. What? My face is red? Why would my face be red? Calling Toshinou Kyouko by her first name isn't that big of a deal so there's no reason for me to be blushing!" Ayano rambled, unable to stop her face from burning.

Chitose stood there gawking at Ayano (while reaching for a tissue) and started to grin. "You actually did it? Are you going to confess?" Chitose pestered, starting to take off her glasses.

"Confess? Why would I confess? It's not like I like her or something" Ayano barked, but it was too late as Chitose was off in her own world. Seeing as Chitose had been lost, Ayano decided to finally try and finish the paper work from the morning. While mindlessly working away at the papers Ayano wondered when she could talk to Kyouko again. It was amazing how often she could think about that blonde without ever losing interest.

Finally as Ayano turned to the last paper in the stack, the door opened, allowing Sakurako and Himawari to enter. Sakurako was holding the door open for Himawari. A courtesy rarely seen from Sakurako. As Himawari started working away, Sakurako seemed to stick unusually close to her. Brushing it aside, Ayano finished her last page and went to the school's office to file it in.

Just as she was about to reach the office a voice called out "Sugiura senpai!" Ayano turned around to see who was calling her.

Standing by the corner was a cute girl who was a bit shorter than Ayano with long black hair and straight bangs.

Ayano had seen this girl around the school before, but did not actually know her name. The girl was blushing, but had a look of defiance on her face.

"Umm hello Ayano senpai, I'm Nagi, a second year. My locker's by the student council office so I see you lots in the hallway, and I think you are really cool and I've started to look up to you so it would make me really happy if you would go out with me." She blushed a bit harder.

Ayano was taken aback. She had never been confessed to before and wasn't really sure how to respond. The girl was cute enough, but unfortunately not just any cute girl was good enough for Ayano. It had to be Kyouko.

Ayano stood there awkwardly for a moment, shocked, which made her feel bad for the poor girl who was anxiously waiting for her reply. What should she say? She wanted to be more honest. Maybe she should take this chance to practice.

"I'm sorry Nagi-chan, but I already love someone else" Ayano said, being genuinely sorry, though she didn't quite know why.

"Oh, it's alright I understand" said the girl, trying unsuccessfully to hide her disappointment.

"Really? You're in love with someone? Who?" asked a third voice from behind Ayano's shoulder.

Ayano literally jumped off the ground making the observer giggle. Ayano started to wonder if her good luck for the year was already running out. The voice behind her was one she would recognize any time of the day. Toshinou Kyouko.


	6. Ayano 3

A/N: Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews. They are a delight to read.

"Heellooo? Ayano? Who are you in love with?"

Ayano stood there motionless, unable to think of a convincing lie. Kyouko stared at Ayano with her beautiful blue eyes, making Ayano feel even more nervous.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ayano, giving her a funny look.

"Didn't you just tell this girl that you are in love with someone? Or were you planning on accepting her confession after all?"

"Of course I'm in love with someone!" snapped Ayano furiously without thinking, feeling bad for the girl who was still standing there rejected.

"Um, I'm sorry to have wasted your time Kaichou-san" said Nagi, politely bowing then walked away. Ayano watched her leave sympathetically, feeling as though she hadn't handled the situation very well.

"Well are you going to tell me, or just leave me in agony?" Kyouko persisted.

"It's kind of private." said Ayano, desperately wishing she could disappear.

"Oh, so it's a secret crush! Don't worry, I'm good at keeping secrets!" Kyouko giggled.

"That's not really the issue..." stalled Ayano, starting to panic.

"Come on, tell meeeee!" wailed Kyouko.

The two girls stood there in silence, staring at each other. Kyouko had a look of expectancy on her face and Ayano's was completely blank. Kyouko shifted her eyes down from Ayano's face, making Ayano wonder just what she was looking at, but used the opportunity to slip into the office.

Just as she entered, the warning bell rang. Ayano would have to make this quick; it wouldn't look very good for the Student Council President to be late for class.

Ayano finally filed the papers she had been stuck with all day, and felt relief wash over when she left, as Kyouko was no longer standing outside. Ayano rushed to her classroom, barely making it in time and took her seat where a note was waiting for her.

Ayano opened the note just as class started and read exactly what she was expecting: "Please tell me -Kyouko"

Ayano didn't like writing notes since she had to set an example, but decided she could make an exception. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she scrawled: "No, please leave it alone"

Ayano handed the note to Kyouko and as she read it, an apparent look of dissatisfaction consumed her face. Kyouko changed it to a cute face as though she was thinking really hard then jotted something down on the paper, handing it back to Kyouko.

The note read: "Fine, let's settle this. You like challenges right? Then how about if I score higher on the test next week than you, you'll have to tell me who you like."

Ayano was stuck. She knew how smart Kyouko was and thought the challenge was way too risky, but if she didn't accept the challenge it would feel like admitting defeat to her rival. Grimacing, she wrote: "Fine, I'll accept, but if I win we'll have study sessions together for a month so I can make sure you're not doing it all at the last second."

Ayano discretely held the paper behind her back and felt Kyouko's soft hands touch hers as they reached for the slip, making Ayano blush slightly. Ayano waited a few moments then heard Kyouko whisper "deal."

Ayano sighed, relieved that they hadn't been caught. "A whole month of studying together sounds wonderful" thought Ayano dreamily. "Wait! This is no time to be daydreaming! There's some serious studying to be done!" she realized, bringing her attention back to the lesson.


	7. Kyouko 4

Kyouko sat happily in her desk daydreaming. She was in a win-win situation. If she won the bet, Ayano would tell her who she liked, but even if she lost Kyouko would still get to spend a whole month with her. Even if they would be studying, it was still a good circumstance.

There was one thing that kept gnawing at her good mood though. What if she wasn't the one Ayano liked. Kyouko thought she might have a shot, but it bugged her how close Ayano was to Chitose. If Kyouko won the bet and found out that Ayano was in love with Chitose it would make her feel like an idiot, but she had to find out, or it would drive her crazy.

Disregarding the fact that paying attention to the lesson would probably help her chances, Kyouko continued to daydream until the bell rang. When the class was dismissed Kyouko took her normal route of action and headed over to the club room. Upon arriving Kyouko was greeted by Chinatsu and Akari whose classroom was closer to the club room this break. Kyouko sat down by the kotatsu shortly followed by Yui.

"Good we're all here," said Kyouko, grabbing the attention of her friends. "We are about to commence our next operation" she said in a deep, boyish voice.

"Who are you pretending to be?" asked Yui.

"After school at 15:00 hours we will meet back here and commence operation: Test Slaying. By the way Yui, I'm imitating you. See, I'm the captain. Thanks for making me break out of character!"

"Captain Yui!" Akari shouted, playing along. "What will the mission entail?"

"I'm glad you asked that" smirked Kyouko, resuming her fake voice. "We will collaborate to prepare ourselves mentally and physically for the upcoming opposition deemed as an evaluation assignment"

"Do you mean you want to have a study session for the next test?" Chinatsu confirmed.

"Yeah pretty much," Kyouko answered flatly.

The three girls stared at her in awe. "You're actually going to study with more than twelve hours before the test?" gasped Akari.

"Well... I..." Kyouko started to explain, but was cut off by Yui.

"This doesn't have something to do with that note you and Ayano were passing around, did it?"

"What? No? Why would it?" Kyouko said, wondering why she was lying.

"Oh? What were you and Sugiura-san discussing?" asked Akari.

"Nothing, just Comuket this year and stuff. Ayano's going to come again." Kyouko said, misleading them even further. Kyouko realized she would have to invite Ayano now (not that she had a problem with it). Kyouko noticed Yui give her a weird look, but seemed to drop the topic.

"Akarin and I aren't even studying at the same level as you though, so what's the point of us coming?" complained Chinatsu.

"It's fine, you can still help us review or tend to other needs like tea and stuff." said Kyouko.

"I don't like the sound of this 'stuff' you mentioned" replied Chinatsu.

"Hm? Why?" asked Kyouko, completely oblivious to how she used to treat Chinatsu before falling in love.

"Never mind" sighed Chinatsu.

Noticing the bell ringing, Kyouko got up running out of the room and yelling "be sure to meet back up after school!"

"Isn't that what we always do?" mumbled Yui, but Kyouko was already long gone.

It was Kyouko's second last class for the day and the only one she didn't have with Ayano or Yui: Art. Normally Kyouko enjoyed art as she would usually draw Mikarun all class, but today she found herself drawing chibi versions of Ayano and herself. At first she didn't realize what she was doing, but once she did she blushed out of pure embarrassment. Maybe she was way more obsessed with Ayano than was healthy. It was funny how this had all started today, but it felt like it had been going on for a while. Kyouko sat there not knowing what to draw, while wondering what would happen if she won the bet.

Finally the bell rang and Kyouko grabbed her drawings not realizing that they were the embarrassing ones of chibi her and Ayano. Kyouko walked briskly through the hall to put away her art supplies and drawings. On her way she noticed Ayano and Chitose walking to the student council office. Chitose: Kyouko's main rival in love.

Noticing Kyouko, Chitose stopped and said "hello Kyouko-san, did you just come from art class?"

Kyouko looked over at Chitose and Ayano. She stopped a second longer to look at Ayano. Kyouko noticed Ayano's breasts had grown since last year, unlike her own. Well that wasn't completely true; Kyouko's had grown since last year, but unlike Ayano's, they weren't very noticeable under her clothes. Then Kyouko turned to face Chitose and felt a twinge of jealousy. Not realizing the sneer she was giving, Kyouko replied "yeah... I am."

Chitose gave her a strange look, confused, but carried on being polite and asked "what is that drawing of?"

Kyouko, noticing the drawings, lifted them to her face only to cringe in shock. Ayano tilted her head and asked "what's wrong T-... Kyouko-san?"

Kyouko came up with an excuse as quick as she could, "I think I accidentally took someone else's drawings. I better go give them back." Kyouko dashed in the opposite direction trying to get away from those two as fast as she could.

What was she going to do with these drawings? No one could see them. Maybe she should throw them out? What if someone notices them? She could burn them! Unfortunately there was nowhere to start a fire.

Desperately trying to come up with a plan, Kyouko walked through the halls not paying attention to where she was walking. Due to this fact she inevitably walked straight into another absent minded person and of course the worst case scenario played out. They both fell to the ground and unfortunately Kyouko dropped her drawings leaving the girl she bumped into to pick them up.

Slightly dazed, Kyouko sat up and heard a voice say "Kyouko these drawings you dropped... are they of you and Ayano?"

Feeling panic overtake her, Kyouko snapped her view to the location of the speaker and saw the curious face of Akari Akaza. There, to Kyouko's horror, were her drawings held up in broad daylight.

"Why do you have these?" continued Akari, looking horribly confused.

Kyouko snatched the drawings out of sight looking around to make sure no one saw them and replied "umm... you see... Ayano wanted them for the Student Council... no, I mean..."

"What are you trying to hide?" asked Akari, obviously not fooled by Kyouko's atrocious attempts of deception. Then Akari gasped in shock wide eyed and shouted "ARE YOU IN LOVE WITH AYANO?"

Kyouko clamped her hands over Akarin's mouth and would've hit her if she didn't look so innocent. "Shh! Do you want the whole school to hear you?" Kyouko roared, her face violent shades of red.

Akari, realizing her mistake and seeing some schoolmates staring at them matched Kyouko's shade and muttered "sorry... but is it true? I mean I didn't expect it at first because I've always thought love was only between a guy and a girl, but when you hang around Chinatsu you start to get used to it."

Kyouko would've laughed aloud if she hadn't been so embarrassed and thought back to the time her and Yui walked in on Akari getting some love from Chinatsu. To this day her and Yui still didn't know what it was about.

Seeing no escape to the hole she was in, Kyouko whispered, "All right fine, you've got me. I'm... in love with Ayano" and felt a strange, but relieving sensation as she admitted it out loud. "Don't tell anyone though!" Kyouko quickly added, remarking how she never understood why people kept their crush a secret, but now that it was her's she fiercely wanted to keep it hidden.

"Don't worry! That's what friends are for, right?" replied Akarin in a very reassuring manner.

Kyouko sighed in relief, and noticing the bell ring, decided to bury the pictures as deep as she could in the nearest trash can and then headed off to class.

For some reason Kyouko was glad that if it had to be anyone that found out, it was Akari. Kyouko couldn't believe how much had happened to her in one day, but it was only the beginning of what would come the following week.


	8. Ayano 4

It was a Saturday morning two days away from the test and Ayano was lacking sleep due to the amount of studying she had been doing. Ayano was out buying groceries for her household. It was a chore given to her regularly by her parents and wasn't always easy, but Ayano enjoyed the feeling of maturity she got from doing it.

It was fairly quiet around the town, as it was still quite early in the morning. Ayano was almost to the supermarket when she spotted her favourite blonde across the street from her. Alongside Kyouko was Akari. The two girls were in their casual clothes today. Kyouko was wearing a white tank top with spaghetti straps and Akari was wearing a blue t-shirt. They seemed very intent on a discussion they were having.

Ayano wondered whether or not she should say 'hi'. Finally, after almost giving up Ayano decided that she needed to have more courage in situations like these.

"Toshinou Kyouko!" yelled out Ayano waving. Kyouko reacted instantly, turning to face Ayano. Ayano noticed how Kyouko's face lit up when she saw her.

"Hey Ayano! What are you doing in town today?" asked Kyouko, J-walking to meet up with Ayano.

"I'm just shopping for groceries, and you?"

"We're headed to Yui's house. We're going to meet her and Chinatsu there to hang out. I'm sure you're invited if you want to come." answered a smiling Akarin. Ayano glanced at Kyouko who nodded in approval.

"Thank you, but I'm kind of busy today. Anyways, I hope you've been studying for the test on Monday, Kyouko-san, because it's in one of my best subjects."

"You bet I've been studying! The Amusement Club has been having ultimate study sessions every day after school!"

"Haha, that may be what you call them, but you've never actually studied yet." interjected Akari "You keep on finding ways to procrastinate. Even though you're so worried about who Ayano likes." Ayano blushed, realizing that Akari knew about the situation.

"Hey now Akari" said a blushing Kyouko through gritted teeth.

"Oh, sorry Kyouko. I just said something embarrassing, didn't I? Anyways, we better run or Yui will start to wonder where we are. See you Ayano!" Akari said, turning to leave.

"Have fun" Ayano yelled back to the two girls. Ayano sighed wondering who else Kyouko had told about their bet.

Ayano cheerfully resumed her trip to the supermarket just as her phone went off. She opened the screen to reveal she had just received an Email from Kyouko. Wondering what she could want after just talking, Ayano read the letter eagerly:

_Hey. Sorry for not mentioning this before, but I want to talk. Can we meet up later today?_

Ayano stared blankly at the screen. What was this about? Ayano snapped back to reality. Realizing she had to respond, Ayano typed:

_Okay. When do you want to meet up?_

In only a matter of a few seconds Ayano received a message reading:

_How about you Email me after dinner and we can meet up then?_

Without hesitation this time Ayano replied, giving a simple okay. Ayano felt wonder wash over her as she finally entered the grocery store. What could Kyouko want? Did it have something to do with the bet? She had so many questions, but the answers would have to wait until later that night.

Ayano made quick work of her chore and then hurried on home. The rest of the day seemed to drag on and Ayano's activity was minimal, even though it was a Saturday. Finally, dinner was ready, which Ayano rushed, making her parents worry. After Ayano finished she ran to her room and Emailed Kyouko. She waited a while and finally got a reply:

_Can you meet me at 7:30? Let's meet at the park._

Ayano gave her a response confirming the time and place and then went to take a shower and changed her clothes. Once she was ready she bolted out of her house not even telling her mom or dad where she was going.

When Ayano got to the park, she looked around for Kyouko and spotted her with two older guys. Ayano wondered if she should go see Kyouko then, or wait for her to finish her business with them. The boys seemed to be a year or two older than Kyouko, but they were well in puberty and were starting to look like young men.

As Ayano watched she started to sense something was wrong. At first Kyouko had been looking directly at them, but now she was staring at her shoes and one of the guys was getting up in her face. Ayano started to run towards Kyouko when one of the boys put his arm around her shoulder and started to walk off with her.

In the heat of the moment Ayano grabbed Kyouko's arm and yelled, "What do you think you're doing?" not sure who she directed it at.

Turning around to face Ayano, the boy who had been grabbing Kyouko gave a look of surprise and said, laughing "We we're just leaving to go have some fun. You can join us if you want too, the more hot chicks the better"

Ayano pulled Kyouko closer towards herself protectively and growled "Well she obviously doesn't want to go and neither do I"

Noticing Ayano's arms around Kyouko, the boy sneered and said "Fine, have fun you frickin' lesbians!" and walked off.

The last part kind of stung, but Ayano brushed it off and turned towards Kyouko yelling "What's wrong with you! Why didn't you tell those guys off! In situations like these you have to be more assertive, or you could get molested or something!"

Kyouko still looking at the ground mumbled "Sorry Ayano..."

Ayano then noticed that Kyouko was shaking and realized that the poor girl was terrified. Ayano had never seen Kyouko like this, all timid and scared.

Ayano, being caught up in the moment brushed Kyouko's bangs and said soothingly "Hey it's all right. I'm here now, so don't worry"

Kyouko wrapped her arms around Ayano and buried her face in her chest.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me... Can I just hold you a bit longer?" she asked, still hiding her face in Ayano's body.

Ayano, completely shocked and red faced stuttered "Y-yeah it's fine"

Ayano tried to console Kyouko by awkwardly patting her head and the two girls stood there for a moment keeping there position. Finally, not able to take it anymore, Ayano stepped back and said "How about we go sit on that bench? I'll go buy us something so just wait there for me, all right?"

Kyouko soundlessly nodded in a obedient, but cute way and Ayano started to walk back into town to find a convenience store. Ayano started to wonder if it was a good idea to leave Kyouko alone again, but decided she'd look bad if she came back empty handed.

Ayano found a store easily and was gone for no more than 5 minutes. When she got back she pulled out rum raisin ice cream for Kyouko and pudding for herself. Ayano noticed how Kyouko's face seemed to lighten a bit at the sight of the frozen treat and felt relieved.

The girls sat quietly for a while eating their snacks. It was a nice temperature out, despite it being late autumn, and the falling, coloured leaves made the park look quite captivating.

Finally, Kyouko broke the silence and asked in a still, slightly soft voice "Do you think there's anything wrong with being a lesbian?"

Ayano was startled by the question as she was just wondering the same thing. Choosing her words carefully she replied "I don't know for sure, but I think love is something you can't control, so trivial details like that shouldn't matter. Some people are just born differently from others, but in the end, love is all that should matter." Blushing, Ayano hoped it didn't sound like some cheesy line from a movie. She waited for Kyouko's response realizing she had just poured out her heart to her crush.

Finally, Kyouko looked at Ayano and gave her a deep, warm smile showing contentedness in her eyes and said "Yeah, I like your answer a lot."

Ayano smiled back and asked "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I feel a lot better, thanks Ayano, and sorry about today" Kyouko said scratching the back of her head. She sat up looking to the horizon and chimed "It looks like it's getting late I'll see you on Monday, okay?"

She started to walk away, but Ayano got up and yelled after her "Wait! What did you want to talk about?"

Kyouko spun around and looked aloof. "Oh yeah, that..." Kyouko stood there for a moment and looked straight up to the sky. Then, with a slight smile on her face, still looking up she said "Today didn't go as I planned, but I was just going to tell you... I think I'm in love with you..."

And with that, Kyouko spun around and headed on home, leaving Ayano there dumbfounded.


	9. Sakurako - Side Story

It was a Saturday evening and was a nice temperature outside, despite being late autumn. Sakurako was preparing for today, as she had plans. Yes, the big day had come to set into motion the final step of conquering Himawari: the kiss. Sakurako had been anticipating this day for a while now and had it all planned out.

Sakurako had invited Himawari to a restaurant for dinner to thank her for helping her with homework and studying. Then they would take a walk in the park and once it started to get dark Sakurako would bring them to the pond where she would eventually build up to a kiss. It was perfect! Sakurako had been checking moon phase calendars and it was supposed to be a full moon tonight.

Amidst her eagerness, Sakurako had started making a ruckus in her closet looking for something to wear to dinner.

Noticing the noise, and the big pile of clothes on the ground, Nadeshiko entered the room and asked "Watcha doin'?"

Sakurako spun around and asked, "Does this look good?" holding up a shirt that caught her eyes.

Nadeshiko blinked, then chuckled and told her younger sister "Come on, I'll find you something Hima-ko would like."

"That's not-" Sakurako started, but then blushed and mumbled "thanks"

Once the girls had picked out the right clothes, Sakurako took a shower and grabbed the money she had saved for the occasion.

"I'm heading out! See-ya!" she yelled, slamming the door behind her. Sakurako crossed the street to Himawari's and entered without knocking, as usual. "Hello? Are you ready to go Himawari?"

"Just a second" called Himawari, sticking her head in the hallway momentarily.

"Oh, hello Sakurako onee-chan" said Kaede, walking past.

"Hello Kaede-chan and how are you?"

"I'm fine, but it seems Onee-chan's boobs have grown again. She's trying to find a shirt that fits. I'm sure if she gave some of her boobs to you it wou-"

"C'mon! I'm ready! Let's go!" yelled a blushing Himawari, dashing out and dragging Sakurako with her.

The two girls had started walking to the restaurant and the sun was low, showing there would only be a few hours of sunlight.

"So where are we going? I hope it's not a ramen booth" complained Himawari.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure you'll like where we'll be going"

When the two girls got there Himawari was shocked. It was a new restaurant which had just opened up this month and was quite expensive.

"You're paying for this?" asked Himawari, eyeing Sakurako suspiciously.

"Of course, don't be afraid to order anything you want. I've got it covered" replied Sakurako, trying to be as kind as possible.

Once the two girls were seated Sakurako found herself staring at Himawari. She kept trying to avert her gaze, but somehow always ended up in the same place. Despite her wardrobe problems, Himawari had managed to put on some nice clothes.

Noticing Sakurako's stare, Himawari self-consciously asked "What?"

Realizing again what she was doing, Sakurako blushed and said "I just hope you have a good time tonight."

"Thanks..." Himawari answered, still seemingly wary.

Following Sakurako's advice, Himawari ordered food to her heart's content, but Sakurako had come knowing that tonight of all night's, she couldn't be cheap.

The two girls had an excellent meal and Sakurako made sure to take the after-mints. Noticing the setting sun, Himawari got up and excused herself, saying "It looks like it's going to get dark out soon. I better get home."

"Wait!" yelled Sakurako in desperation. "Let's go to the park! There's, umm... Something I want to talk about."

Confused, Himawari followed and the two girls made their way to the park. Sakurako had them all day, but now she could really feel butterflies in her stomach. What if her techniques hadn't been working? What if Himawari liked boys? This thought had never occurred to Sakurako until now. It's not really something you just openly discuss with somebody and Himawari had never given any indication to being attracted to the same sex. Entering the park though, she was distracted by some familiar faces.

There, hugging in the middle of the park was Toshinou senpai and Kaichou-san. That little devil! Kyouko had taken Sakurako's idea and was using it on Sugiura senpai. And by the looks of it, she was progressing much faster too. Now Sakurako could not fail!

Himawari also seemed to notice the couple and looked away awkwardly. The two girls walked silently for a while, with Sakurako secretly leading them to the pond.

Finally, with a slight look of annoyance on her face, Himawari asked "So what did you want to talk about?"

Noticing the hidden vexation Sakurako asked "You've seemed frustrated lately; what's the matter?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it"

Deciding it would be best just to go along with the plan, Sakurako kept quiet and walked over to the pond. The sun had now almost set and the pond was surrounded by coloured trees, with one side open to a meadow, giving a good view of the horizon.

They were here, now she just had to set the mood. Luckily, she had been studying her manga. Sakurako started reviewing lines in her head. I'm a perverted space alien? No. You may be small, but that's what makes you special? No. Sakurako realized that none of the manga she had read could be of any help here.

The sun had set and the moon and first stars had become visible. Himawari, noticing this, was showing clear agitation on her face now and growled "Well, are you going to tell me what you wanted to say, or are we just going to stand here?"

Sakurako, taking a leap of faith, decided to just go for it. She turned to face Himawari and closed her eyes. She started to lean in, her heart pounding incredibly fast for reasons she couldn't understand. Then she waited only to hear Himawari ask "What are you doing?"

Sakurako opened her eyes and almost lost it, but remembered she had to be courteous towards Himawari. "I'm trying to kiss you, silly"

"I know"

Slowly, feelings of dread and rejection started to pour over Sakurako.

"You wanted to know why I seem so frustrated?" asked Himawari. "It's because lately you've been acting so weird. You are doing nice things for me and never arguing with anything I say and the boob jokes have just stopped completely! What are you doing?"

"But, you've always complained about how I acted. I thought you wanted this."

"I don't!" shouted Himawari. "I want my best friend back!"

Himawari started to leave, but Sakurako grabbed her sleeve and yelled "Wait!"

Himawari turned around to face Sakurako and asked "What's the real reason you've been doing this? The Sakurako I know wouldn't start being nice to others just because they complained about her attitude."

Out of desperation Sakurako blurted out "I was trying to make you fall in love with me so people would stop complaining about me being lazy"

"First of all, that plan makes no sense, and secondly, I can't believe you would do something like that. Even for you, that's way too selfish." Himawari said, yanking her arm out of Sakurako's grasp and turning to leave.

Sakurako stood there motionless. She was so confused. Why did Himawari's words sting so much? Then she noticed a peculiar feeling on her cheek. She lifted her finger to it to find a tear had rolled down. What was happening? Why did it feel like Himawari walking away meant losing everything?

Unaware of her own actions at first, Sakurako ran towards Himawari and yelled once again "Wait!"

Himawari turned around exasperated and huffed "What now?"

"It was an excuse!" Sakurako blurted, not sure what she meant. As she stood there though, words came to her mouth and she simply spoke them. "The whole thing was an excuse. I may have told you it was my plan to make you fall in love with me just to get people off my back. That's even what I told myself, but it was all just an excuse so that I didn't have to admit that I'm in love with you! So please don't go! I need you." Sakurako whimpered the last part.

Himawari stood there stunned for a moment, then whispered "How do I know that isn't just another trick of yours?"

"I... I don't know, but I swear it isn't. This wasn't easy to say, but I sincerely meant it."

"I know. As I thought, you couldn't possibly be that selfish."

"So you're not mad anymore" asked Sakurako sheepishly.

"Only if you promise never to lie to me again" said Himawari, smiling warmly.

"I might screw up sometimes, but I swear I'll try my best" said Sakurako laughing, the tears now freely flowing down her cheeks and hitting the ground.

"Then I guess I owe you something" said Himawari bending down slightly, and kissed Sakurako, cupping her face.

Sakurako happily obliged giving Himawari a hug in one of the happiest moments of their lives.


	10. Ayano 5

The day had finally come. Monday morning: the day of the test. The day of the bet.

Ayano had been studying as hard as she could, but unfortunately had been quite distracted by events that had transpired the prior Saturday. One particular event especially.

Ayano had woken up early this morning to get extra studying in, despite staying up late the night before, but couldn't stay focused on the task at hand.

Ayano hadn't had any contact with Kyouko since the incident and her heart started pounding every 3 minutes. At first, Ayano thought the obvious response would be to show Kyouko her reciprocated feelings, but due to her disbelief, she started over-thinking the situation. What if Kyouko meant love in a really fond way, like a sibling, or close friend? Or maybe she was just teasing her like Kyouko always liked to do with friends. Yet the seriousness of the discussion they had shared and Kyouko's voice told her otherwise. Unlike usual, Ayano was dreading to face Kyouko today at school.

Noticing the time, Ayano packed her books and started to get ready for school. She left home and almost ignored Chitose on her way to school.

"Ayano-chan! What's wrong? Is it something to do with Kyouko?"

"Hmm? Oh sorry Chitose-chan I was jus- Ahh! What's wrong Chitose?"

Chitose was already bleeding, her glasses taken off.

"Go on without me! If I'm going to die, at least I saw a glimpse of heaven." said Chitose kneeling over.

"C'mon pull yourself together; we're going to be late."

The two girls arrived at school not a minute too early. They managed to sit down before the bell rang.

Ayano was breathing sighs of relief when she realized that sitting right behind her was Toshinou Kyouko. What was she going to do if Kyouko tried to talk to her about the weekend? She had been thinking about it constantly ever since it happened, but had still not come to a decision on what she would do if confronted.

Fortunately Kyouko seemed to be keeping quiet during class. Foolishly, Ayano decided to take a peek back at Kyouko. Kyouko's attention was not focused on her book, nor the teacher, but on Ayano. She gave a look of surprise when Ayano's eyes met her's, but quickly changed it into a casual smile. Ayano whipped her head back forward, in a most conspicuous way.

Once class was dismissed, Ayano bolted out of the classroom, not even giving Kyouko a chance to talk to her, even if she wanted to. Ayano made her way to the Student Council room and took some pudding from the fridge to calm herself down.

It was funny. Ayano had always gone crushing on Kyouko, but even though her chances of rejection were significantly lower, she was more scared than ever of Kyouko finding out.

The bell rang, forcing Ayano to put her half-eaten pudding in the fridge. She got up to move on to her next class when a sudden realization made her heart skip a beat. It was finally time to write the test.

Ayano took her seat feeling the panic spread. She ran through her mind reviewing the subjects she had studied, but it felt hazy and most of her memories were of her freaking out thinking about Kyouko.

Kyouko walked through the door and before her taking her seat brushed Ayano's ear with her lip and whispered, "Good luck" arousing her slightly.

The class started and the test began shortly after. For whatever reason, Ayano decided she could not lose here. However, Ayano found herself struggling much more than she expected. Each question was difficult and for lots of the questions she had to use critical thinking to come up with an answer. The further she got into the test, the more she doubted herself.

She finished the test and double checked her answers, though it didn't help much considering how unsure she was. She felt a sting in her eyes and the bitter feeling of defeat. She got up miserably, to hand her test to the teacher, and when she sat back down the smug look on Kyouko's face did not help.

She waited patiently in her desk, very aware (like most days) how close Kyouko was to her. Being a short test, the teacher marked them during class. Finally, after painful minutes of waiting, the teacher announced he had marked the test.

He went around the class handing out the tests. Ayano sat straight up anxiously, while Kyouko leaned back with a dopey grin on her face.

Feeling all her nerves squeeze on her as the teacher walked by, Ayano felt a jolt of shock as the teacher handed her the test and commented "excellent job as usual, Ayano"

Ravenously, Ayano took her test to behold a big red "30/30" printed on her test. Relief enveloped Ayano, as she stared at the mark. Excitedly she swivelled around to face Kyouko.

"I did it! I got 100%! The rules were if you got a _higher_ mark on the test you win, but I got one-hundred!"

"Good job Ayano" applauded Kyouko, her face unchanging.

Something about her grin unnerved Ayano, but she was in the clear, right?

The teacher came back around and dropped off Kyouko's test. Kyouko didn't even bother to touch it. In front of Ayano sat Kyouko's test emblazoned with a "31/30"

"How? That's impossible" gasped Ayano, dread taking over.

"Sorry Ayano, but there was no way I was going to lose this competition. It took a lot of begging and a few chores, but I managed to grovel a bonus mark off the teacher before hand." said Kyouko smirking, clearly proud.

It was so unfair. Of course, why did Ayano expect Kyouko to play with no tricks. She may complain, but there was no actual cheating that took place. Ayano could just stare in disbelief until finally the bell rang.

"Well, that's our cue. Come on, let's go find somewhere private" said Kyouko who was by now elated.

Seeing no way out of it Ayano started to walk to the Student Council room, still partly in shock.

"C'mon there's usually no one in here until after school" said Ayano, opening the door.

To their awe the open door revealed two girls standing very close together. Sakurako and Himawari had their bodies pressed against each other. Sakurako had her arms clasped around Himawari's shoulders and her right leg was wrapped around Himawari's lower body.

In an awkward moment the two girls shrieked and jumped across the room apart from each other.

"Oh, sorry Kaichou-san. We were just, umm fighting. Haha"

Ayano closed the door wordlessly and started to walk away.

"I know let's go to the roof!" said Kyouko, excitedly.

Taking her suggestion Ayano changed her route and headed for the stairs.

"Kyouko-chan!" came a shout from down the hall. Out of thin air popped Akarin who said "Hey Kyouko, how's it going? I've got a hilarious story to tell you about the fight Himawari and Sakurako had this morning. I guess they'll never change."

"I wouldn't count on that" said Kyouko, obviously in a hurry. "Anyways Akarin I'm kind of busy right now so maybe some other time-"

"Oh I get it" said Akari, looking at Ayano as realization dawned on her face. Then, turning to Kyouko, with a grin on her face, she mouthed the words, "Good luck" trying to be discreet although it was plain as day.

With that, the girls continued on once again and the dread started to come back. Why was Ayano getting so worked up? Kyouko confessed right? Maybe. So there shouldn't be anything to worry about. But Ayano didn't want to lose Kyouko as a friend. Her life now felt too valuable to sacrifice.

Finally, the girls emerged through the dull, grey doors and out under the blue sky with an occasional white cloud. The season matched the temperature today and the girls noticed the chill.

Trying to think of a way out of it in a last ditch attempt, Ayano looked around until Kyouko finally said "Whenever you're ready"

Ayano took a few deep breaths and felt the nerves pile up when she noticed Kyouko biting her lower lip. There was a peculiar expression on her face Ayano had never seen before. Then she realized it was apprehension.

Ayano realized how silly she had been. Of course that had been a confession Kyouko gave her, and now here she was waiting for the girl she liked to tell her who _she_ liked. Ayano realized that it must be even more nerve wracking than confessing to the person you like, and immediately felt a strong sense of guilt.

How long had Kyouko been dealing with this for? Ayano should have given a response the moment Kyouko confessed instead of running away from it. After all, this was supposed to be the girl she was in love with, yet Ayano had left her in pain.

Ayano realized now, that for Kyouko's sake, she had to be honest to her heart. She had always been wishing she could, but never even tried. Now she had to do it for the person she loved. Ayano realized that she was ready for a change.

So without further hesitation Ayano gathered more courage than she ever had before and without realizing it started shouting "Kyouko! I am in love with you! I've loved you for over two years since the day we met! And I-"

Ayano was cut off by Kyouko's soft embrace. Kyouko rested her head on Ayano's shoulder, burying her face and the warmth of her body lessened the chill of the air, along with the blood rushing to Ayano's cheeks.

"Is it okay for me to hug you like this?" asked Kyouko, her voice muffled.

"O-of course" stuttered Ayano, feeling happiness stockpiling, ready to burst out her chest. To her surprise, Ayano started to feel tears on her shoulder. Kyouko's emotions affected Ayano and she started to feel her own tears of joy dampen her eyes, but she dare not let them fall.

"Ayano? I'm going to tell you I love you every day. All right?"

"Of course" Ayano repeated, gripping Kyouko in her own arms. "I love you."


	11. Epilogue (omniscient)

Kyouko was sitting in the club room feeling extremely happy. No, that wasn't quite right. There was definitely an unmistakable sense of happiness, but there was another feeling she couldn't name. A kind of longing. She thought maybe it was pride, as she realized that she wanted to tell everyone she was now dating Ayano. She wanted to stand up right in front of her three club members this instance and declare that Ayano Sugiura belonged to her.

Unfortunately, Ayano had banned Kyouko from doing exactly this. She had said that since she was the student council president she had to be a role model for other students, or something like that; Kyouko had been too busy guessing the colour of her panties to hear the exact details.

Thus, left Kyouko sitting with her three friends, stuck with this indescribable feeling which felt about ready to burst out of her chest.

Kyouko looked around the room. It was a normal day, quiet, relaxed. No one was doing very much as usual. Although Chinatsu had noticed that Kyouko had started to leave her alone and took this opportunity to sit closer to Yui. Yui took notice of this, but did not mind.

Out of everyone Kyouko and Ayano knew, Akari was the only one who knew about their relationship. She had been very supportive to Kyouko and upon thinking this, Kyouko realized that Ayano didn't even know that Akari knew. "Oopsies! ^.^"

The confidentiality wasn't the only struggle of dating the student council president though. Ayano was extremely busy with all of her council work, more so than Kyouko had imagined. Kyouko didn't get to spend nearly as much time with her love as she wished. They were both grateful for all of the classes they shared together, but it wasn't enough.

Acting upon this, Kyouko looked up at the clock. She noticed it was starting to get late and told her friends she was going home. Pretending to leave, Kyouko grabbed her stuff and headed outside. Instead of taking the road to go home though, she found a corner outside of the entrance to the school where she wouldn't be spotted easily and get in trouble for loitering. She made herself comfy then phoned home, telling her parents she would be out late tonight.

There were two people she wasn't eager to boast to about her first girlfriend: her parents. Kyouko would feel comfortable telling her friends since she and Chinatsu didn't even try to hide the fact that they were lesbians, but it would feel awkward letting her parents know. She wondered what they would think.

Kyouko spent a long time waiting. She saw a few first years in the student council leave. Then she saw Chitose leave and shortly after that Himawari and Sakurako who were hand in hand. Kyouko didn't know the details, but assumed correctly that they were dating.

Those two were the last ones left other than Ayano. Kyouko waited a while longer. Finally the doors swung open and out walked Ayano. Kyouko stood up quickly and noticed that the sun was starting to go down.

She waited a few seconds for Ayano to walk ahead, then snuck-up behind her and covered her eyes, wrapping her other arm around Ayano's arms and stomach.

Much to Kyouko's prediction, she gave out a short yelp and started to struggle. Kyouko moved her arm from Ayano's stomach down to her leg and began slowly sliding it up. Taking this chance, Ayano spun around and shoved Kyouko as hard as she could, sending her to the ground.

Ayano, regaining her vision, saw Kyouko sprawled on the ground and yelled "What do you think you were doing? You seriously scared me!"

"Aww, next time be a good girl and let me rape you"

"What? NO!" yelled Ayano blushing. "Anyways sorry for pushing you" she said holding out a hand.

"It's okay, I asked for it"

"Yeah, you did. What are you doing here anyways?"

"I was waiting for you. I missed you!" cried Kyouko, clinging to Ayano.

Ayano, still blushing, felt a massive wave of joy and love wash over her from hearing these words. "I miss you too" she grumbled under breath.

"What was that?" Kyouko asked.

"Nothing!" Ayano answered. Even though they were dating now, Ayano still found it hard to express her feelings.

"So when can we find some quality time?" asked Kyouko, now embracing Ayano's arm.

"I don't know. The Christmas dance is coming up soon and I'll be busy with that"

"Boo" said Kyouko, feeling disappointed.

The two girls kept walking together. They came to the point where they should split ways and Ayano stopped for a second, but Kyouko kept walking towards Ayano's house, still holding her arm.

"Where are you going?" asked Ayano.

"The walk was too short. Come on, let's talk for a little longer."

Ayano decided to go with the flow and kept walking. The girls talked pointlessly. They hadn't been dating for very long, (a few weeks at the most) but they had gotten past the awkward stage and talking felt natural.

Suddenly Kyouko stopped, making Ayano turn to face her.

"What's the matter?"

"We're getting close to your house. Let's go spend more time together." said Kyouko frowning.

"I can't. My parents are expecting me to be home for dinner"

"Boo"

"I need to go before my dad gets angry"

"I won't let you!" declared Kyouko, changing her grip on Ayano's arm to a more aggressive one.

Trying to think of a solution to her predicament, Ayano thought back to an overnight stay at the school she had a year ago with Kyouko.

Blushing furiously, Ayano closed her eyes and leaned forward to find a soft sensation meet her lips. Ayano felt Kyouko's grasp shift yet again, this time wrapping her arms around Ayano's waist and tightly squeezing her into her own body. Ayano, who was worried about her lack of experience at first, relaxed and felt herself melt in to the embrace. One of Kyouko's hands slid up and rested on the back of Ayano's head as their kiss grew more passionate. To her surprise, Ayano let out a loud moan, which Kyouko took as a compliment.

Their kiss seemed to last forever, but when they parted it felt too short.

"That was just a reward for loving me so much" said Ayano, face completely red and avoiding eye contact.

Kyouko giggled, staring at Ayano intently. Her posture softened and she chimed "I wouldn't mind getting rewards more often"

"Don't get too greedy now" mumbled Ayano, still looking away. Realizing what she was doing, Ayano broke away and started running towards her house.

Startled, Kyouko shouted "No fair!"

"Sorry, I'll see you tomorrow! We can try and make plans later!" Ayano yelled back.

"I love you!" hollered Kyouko, waving farewell.

Ayano stopped. Back still turned to Kyouko, Ayano looked at her feet, shut her eyes and yelled back "I love you too!" With her face red again for what seemed like the hundredth time today, she picked her pace back up, trying to run towards tomorrow.

* * *

A/N: The story continues in the sequel "Let's Pick Up The Pace!" Thank you for reading up to this point and for everyone's support. Also, I don't care how old this story is when you read this, review anyway!


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